3 Americans making their way in the Euroleague
The NBA is one of the toughest leagues to break into, and a lot of basketballers in the States end up in the EuroLeague. I spoke to freelance basketball blogger Luca D’Allessandro to come up with three of the best talents from the USA.
- Scottie Wilbekin
Wilbekin has had quite the career in Europe. The Point Guard entered the 2014 NBA Draft after four years with the Florida Gators in college, but went undrafted.
Before coming to Europe he signed with Cairns in the NBL (Australian basketball League) where he spent just a season. Since then he has featured in Greece and Turkey before joining Maccabi tel-Aviv in Israel, where last season he put up career numbers. In the Israeli League winning season, Wilbekin averaged 16 points and 3 assists and shot 43% from 3 point range.
In terms of play style, that’s where blogger Luca D’Allessandro comes in. He said:
“Wilbekin has less ‘pure’ talent and isn’t the most explosive. He tends to rely more on his outside shot, as shown by the highlights that you can find here
On the defensive side, Scottie has averaged a steal per game throughout his time in European basketball, and Luca was full of praise for his defensive efforts:
“He is definitely reliable defensively though, in college he was known primarily as a defender.”
2. Mike James
I can’t confirm this, but I heard this was Mike James’ reaction when he found out he was on this list…
I promise this isn’t a list of undrafted point guards, having said that, here is another undrafted point guard.
Mike James entered the 2012 draft after spells at Eastern Arizona College and Lamar University respectively. In terms of a basketball résumé, James is probably the most established on this list. He has featured for an array of teams in his 8 year professional career, including two stints at NBA outfits. The Portland-born guard spent a season in Phoenix for the Suns where he averaged 10 points per game before moving to the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2017/18 campaign.
In Europe, he currently turns out for CSKA Moscow, one of the more prestigious sides in the EuroLeague. In his time at the Russian team he has picked up the EuroLeague MVP on two separate occasions, in 2019 and 2020. In his most recent season he put up a career high 21 points per game in just 28 mpg (minutes per game).
Luca, our analyst for today, heaped the praise on James for his impressive inside game:
“James is as hard as a marble and jumps like a spring despite being small.
“He is not an idiot offensively.”
The highlights from his 2019/20 season at CSKA show this, but it also shows a range of court vision and a solid 3pt shot. Watch them here.
3. Jordan Mickey
Finally, a different position to Point Guard, and this one got drafted.
Jordan Mickey is a Power Forward currently playing for Khimki, a Russian team, however he transferred there from Real Madrid. At Real Madrid he formed a big partnership with hotly tipped youngster Usman Garuba to create a defensive force in the front court.
In terms of individual accolades, Mickey might top the list, he was an NBA D-League (now G-League) All Star, he was the NCAA blocks leader in college, and in the same season he was in the All Confrence 1st team at LSU (Louisiana State).
Defensively, Jordan Mickey is a FORCE, and I do not use that word lightly. 6'8 is relatively small for a ‘big’ but his athleticism and defensive positioning make up for that. His blocks and defensive rebounding ability make him a real asset on the defensive end, as shown by this clip, where Mickey makes 3 blocks in just 5 seconds!
And that concludes it, our 3 picks of the best Americans in the EuroLeague. Let us know your thoughts on twitter and of course a big thank you to Luca D’Allessandro for his analysis!
